The 41st Delaware Water Gap COTA jazz fest opens Friday

By
Jim Radenhausen, Pocono Record Writer

Posted Sep 6, 2018 at 4:05 PMUpdated Sep 6, 2018 at 4:05 PM

Will Rothfuss' painting for the Delware Water Gap Celebration of the Arts Jazz Festival, used for the event's official poster, will be up for bid all weekend as part of a silent auction. [PHOTO PROVIDED]▲

Louis Rogai [PHOTO PROVIDED]▲

Chelsea Smarr [PHOTO PROVIDED]▲

Jay Leonhart [PHOTO PROVIDED]▲

Music will fill three locales during this weekend's 41st annual Delaware Water Gap Celebration of the Arts Jazz Festival, though, first, on Friday night, La Société Expeditionnaire's "Celebration of the Other Arts" will have its time to shine.

COTA's newly named opening-night event, scheduled for 6 to 11 p.m. Friday in the second-floor ballroom of The Hall at Castle Inn, will include a variety of music, spoken word and performance art, along with projections by Daniel James Papa and Felix Kauffman. Louis Rogai and friend/collaborator Patrick McGee curated the event, for which Sango Kura will be on site with its ramen and sushi food truck.

For decades, Friday night has traditionally opened the COTA festival at the Church of the Mountain, providing "a slight alternative to the rest of the weekend with theater, dance, chamber music and readings," said Rogai, who created the La Société Expéditionnaire recording label in 2006 to release his own and friends' music, specializing in short-run vinyl records. "Denny Carrig and friends have been at the helm for many years and have programmed incredible performances. When he passed the torch along to me, he mentioned that they lovingly and jokingly refer to the night as 'Celebration of the Other Arts,' with an emphasis on 'other.' I thought it would be a nice homage to his tenure to actualize and emphasize this otherness and carry on the tradition."

With a mission to include creativity, diversity and community, "the aim is to provide a diverse night of original contemporary and experimental music, poetry and food," Rogai said. "We're trying to incorporate artists with ties to our region, to celebrate those who we feel should be heard. There are hidden gems in these hills.

"We have some exciting and interesting artists who have never performed at the festival before," he continued. "Patrick and I went about adding artists who are part of the creative community, and expanding upon the ideas of what is considered independent and/or DIY."

McGee, Rogai said, is "a brilliant musician and producer, and has his finger on the pulse of great things. He's joining me performing in Lewis & Clarke, and he's rounding out at least half of the music for the evening."

Prior to the five-hour performance event, The Hall at Castle Inn's first floor will host an opening reception at 5 p.m. for the 2018 COTA Music Motif Art Show. The exhibit, available to view until 11 p.m. Friday and noon to 8 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, will feature paintings, photography and sculptures, among other media. The reception will include a small amount of food, with guests able to purchase cuisine from Sango Kura.

Ian Carrig, curator for the art show, said this year's exhibit "will be similar to last year's in most ways. My hope is that the show will provide guests with an appreciation for the visual arts, along with the spirit of celebrating music, especially jazz, in the Poconos."

In addition, Carrig noted that "there will be a silent auction all weekend long for Will Rothfuss' painting used for the poster. Half the proceeds will go to COTA." Running concurrently with the COTA festival is Rothfuss' "Trees" exhibit at the Antoine Dutot Museum & Gallery.

Following the opening-night events, the COTA festival — which Phil Woods, Rick Chamberlain and Ed Joubert founded in 1978 — will feature two days of music in three adjacent venues.

The COTA Main Stage, commemoratively designated the Rick Chamberlain Memorial Stage, will feature a performance by the Jay Leonhart Trio on Saturday. Leonhart's new recording, "Don't You Wish," will feature on WESS 90.3 FM's "Jazz for the Common Man" COTA special, scheduled to air 8 a.m. to noon Saturday. The bassist and songwriter will perform at the COTA festival for the first time, with his daughter, jazz vocalist/songwriter Carolyn Leonhart — who's recorded and tours with Steely Dan and leads her own jazz trio — joining him.

Other acts set to perform starting at noon Saturday on the Main Stage include: the Pocono Jazz Quintet 2018; Nancy and Spencer Reed, with guests; the Adam Niewood Trio; the Water Gap Jazz Orchestra, with Matt Vashlishan as director; and the Johnny DeFrancesco Group. Sunday's Main Stage program will start with a Jazz Mass at 10 a.m., followed by Co-Op Bop, Expansions: The Dave Liebman Group, the Esteban Castro Trio, the Jim Ridl Quartet, New Kind of Talk, and Vinny Bianchi and La Cuchina.

The Deer Head Inn, meanwhile, will host performances from the following starting at 2 p.m. Saturday: the Rich Jenkins Quintet; the Mode For Joe Duo; Quartet; and a jam session. Sunday's lineup, also starting at 2 p.m., will feature Jay Rattman and Glenn Zaleski, the Bill Goodwin Trio with Roseanna Vitro, the Bill Mays Trio and a jam session.

At the third venue — The Hall at Castle Inn — music will start at 12:30 p.m. Saturday, with performances by the Tyler Dempsey Electric Trio, the Mitchell Cheng Trio, The Trio, and Nicholas Krolak. Sunday's music, starting at 12:45 p.m., will feature The COTA Cats, The (Deer Head) Porch Hangers, Francesco's Fabulosos, The Flamin' Foxes, and Leaky Light Combo.

Also during Saturday and Sunday, the festival will include storytelling in the Children's Area, while Artisans Row will take residence on Delaware Avenue, with a dozen or so vendors showcasing jewelry, photography, paintings, drawings and more. About a half-block away from Artistans Row, Culinary Court will offer a variety of edible delights.

Mike Abate, culinary coordinator for the COTA festival, has assembled a multicultural food court that includes the Willowtree Inn, Café Duet, Quench Cafe and Juice Bar, and the Square Fare waffle and taco cart, along with a couple of new vendors: Kabob House, with a Middle-Eastern menu, and Wabi Sabi, with Japanese street food. In addition, Church on the Mountain and the Lions Club will have American classics, such as hamburgers and hot dogs, while The Renegade Winery and ShawneeCraft will offer their libations.

Tradition and charm

Keeping with tradition, the COTA Festival will conclude Sunday night with a jazz jam at the Deer Head Inn. Familiar elements like the closing jam work in the festival's favor, according to Lisa Ellex, COTA board member/recording secretary.

"I think the charm of the festival is that it has changed little," she said. "The most notable change came last year with the addition of two venues," The Hall at Castle Inn and the Deer Head Inn.

With the arts often suffering when budget cuts rear their heads in schools and other programs, events such as the COTA festival remain important to both education and entertainment.

"It is a vital part of any community to have access to the lively arts: music, stage works, culinary and all visual arts," Ellex said. "When education is entertaining, it stays with you and you will strive to seek it out again. Arts events should not be unusual in any community; it should be a part of the everyday life of any community."

As festival goers take in the music and other goings-on during the Delaware Water Gap festival, "clearly, we're hoping that everyone enjoys themselves, hopefully to the extent that they take pride in this community and feel compelled to be part of it in any way they can," Rogai said. "That's the spirit in which the festival was founded 41 years ago."

Ellex, meanwhile, wants attendees to leave the COTA Jazz Festival with one specific impression. "The arts — particularly jazz — are alive and well, and living in the Poconos."

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